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Chocolate Mint Brownies for St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve slowly started changing over my modest collection of holiday decor from Valentine’s Day stuff to St. Patrick’s Day stuff. If I thought I had very little to pack away for V-Day, I’ve got even less to bring out for St. Patrick’s Day!

But it’s not a big deal. By the middle of the month I’m tired of it anyway and I’ll have Easter and spring stuff out soon enough, so hey, less work for me! That doesn’t mean I get tired of holiday-appropriate baking, though. It definitely takes me longer to get past that and move on to the next season.

So, I’ve already started making yummy stuff for St. Patrick’s Day. I came across these Chocolate Mint Brownies on Pinterest, but the pin wasn’t linked to anything with more info, so I Googled it and found it at the Betty Crocker website.

Though it’s fairly easy to put together, there are three separate steps to making the whole dessert, and each step takes at least an hour in the fridge when you’re done with it.

The recipe says it takes about 5-1/2 hours from start to finish, and I’d say that’s about right. So if you’re planning to make these, make sure you give yourself plenty of time!

You start off making a box of brownie mix (which I’ve got plenty of), and then let that cool completely. (What did I do before Reynold’s Liners?) (No, they’re still not paying me.)

Then you whip up a really yummy frosting with mint extract and green food coloring (though using red for Christmas would be fun, too) and spread that over the cooled brownies. That goes into the fridge for at least an hour to set.

About half an hour before that was ready to take out, I started the chocolate for the top.

The instructions said to just put everything in a non-stick pan and do it that way, but I prefer to do it in a double boiler so nothing gets burnt.

Once the bars and the chocolate are ready, pour the cooled chocolate on top.

I had all three girls in the kitchen for this step. Who doesn’t want to watch that? (Dibs on who got what utensil may have also played a part.)

Now it’s ready to go back into the fridge, this time for at least two hours. Torture.

So, the bars are delicious, but very rich! I used just under 1/4 tsp of the mint extract, which was the perfect amount. The recipe calls for a measurement between 1/8 to 1/4 tsp, and I was afraid of it tasting like toothpaste so I went in a little shy.

In fact, with all the chocolate, it was the frosting that everyone agreed was the richest part, so when I make these again I think I’m going to actually cut the mint frosting portion in half for a thinner layer.

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make and bake brownie mix as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

In large bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until set.

Heather, what kind of mint extract did you use? I have one from McKormick, and it is not quite right, it tastes more like spearmint instead of that mint you get in a mint chocolate chip ice cream (what I want). I don’t want spearmint, or peppermint, I want that other mint whatever it is:) These look fantastic by the way. I have not one single St. Patrick’s day decoration, how sad is that!

Mine is from McCormick too and says Peppermint Extract. You’re right – it’s not quite like the mint in mint chocolate chip. I looked on Amazon and they do sell just a “mint extract,” which I didn’t see at the store, but I’m going to double check when I go this week. I’ll have to give that one a shot, too!

These look great. I make mint nanaimo bars every year at about thus time. They have a graham cracker, coconut, and chocolate crust, mint butter cream filling, and a layer if semi sweet chocolate on top. I might just have to make some brownies as well if I get the chance.